CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING REPORTS ISSN 2080-5187 CEER 2015; 19 (4): 005-012 DOI: 10.1515/ceer-2015-0046 RENOVATION AND MODERNIZATION OF HOTEL BUILDINGS - CASE STUDIES IN SILESIA Tomasz BRADECKI 1, Barbara UHEREK-BRADECKA Silesian University of Technology, Faculty of Architecture, Gliwice, Poland Abstract The cultural heritage of Silesia has different backgrounds and is often characterized by difficult to assess values. There is doubt as to whether some of the existing buildings should be modernized. Since 2000, an increase in the amount of investments in hotel buildings and conference venues in Poland has been observed. The functions and roles of hotels within a city have also changed. The paper presents examples of original projects and realizations of hotel buildings in Silesia. A discussion was also held regarding the issue of adapting and modernizing hotel buildings. Keywords: Silesian heritage, hotel conservation, hotel modernization 1. INTRODUCTION Cultural heritage in Silesia has many backgrounds, and is often characterized by difficult to assess values. There are exceptional examples of architecture and city planning typical of this region: industrial neighborhoods (patron settlements), the remains of industrial buildings, including mines, architecture possessing characteristic traits in terms of style, e.g. clinker brick as a finishing element, laid in a specific manner, or others. The vast majority of the buildings, however, either completely lack such features or only partially attest to the region. Some of these buildings are found in the centers of cities and it would appear that their role is quite significant, considering as how they constitute proof of 1 Corresponding author: Silesian University of Technology, Faculty of Architecture, Akademicka st 7, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland, e-mail:
[email protected],
[email protected], tel.+487930909078 6 Tomasz BRADECKI, Barbara UHEREK-BRADECKA the past, very visible and often unchanged to this very day.